278th story

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After marking the exam papers of grade 11,
The teacher placed the grade list into her bag as though it were a hidden treasure.

She returned the papers to the students and said:
“Review your scores.
If you see any thorn of error,
bring it tomorrow so I may pluck it from the soul of the paper.”

Three weeks passed,
like a silent river.
One day, with a worried face, she entered the class,
slammed her notebook on the desk, and said:
“The grade list is lost..!
To be honest…
The only solution is for each of you to tell me your grade so I can rewrite the list.”

The students…
locked eyes with each other.
The first voice rose:
“Twenty..!”
The second shouted: “Nineteen and a half..!”
The third, with a sweet accent: “Me too, I got twenty..!”
spread like sparks across the room.

Some gestured with their eyes, “What an easy exam this turned out to be..!”
The teacher, without a reaction,
wrote down the numbers.
It felt like her pen.

She submitted the new list to the office.
The students’ joy
filled the air of the class with a strange radiance.
Days passed, the grades were recorded, and the students felt at ease.

Another day, in the middle of a lesson,
She suddenly opened her bag.
She drew out the original list — the one she had “lost” —

“Class… I found the missing list.
Now let’s see what the true grades were..!”

The air froze.
Colour drained from their faces.
Shaking hands gripped the desks.
Ashamed.

Everyone sat there in frozen dread, wondering:
“How did that damn list resurface after three weeks?”
A deathly silence fell.
Suddenly,
She raised the original list before their stunned eyes —
and tore it to pieces..!
She said:
“I believe in your conscience.
Whatever grade you gave yourselves,
is my proof.”
I’ve recorded exactly what you said.

A collective sigh of relief swept the room —
as though chains had fallen from their souls.

Those who had rolled up the sleeves of deceit
now shamefully asked:
“Why didn’t you expose us?!”

The next week…
When she entered the classroom, it was different:
A heavy silence sat on their faces —
a face of shame..!

Suddenly, Moe stood up, walked to the blackboard and wrote: “I’m sorry…” Then said, “This shame will forever run through our bones…
When you tore that list,
you shattered the mirror of our souls,
so we could see ourselves as we truly are..!
We deceived you…
But you forgave us. And we learned:
Truth is the highest grade!”